Kneecap explain decision to perform at The Great Escape
Irish trio Kneecap have explained why they plan to still perform at The Great Escape in Brighton despite over 150 acts pulling out of the festival due to its sponsorship with Barclays.
The boycott was initiated by Bristolian punks The Menstrual Cramps along with promoters How to Catch a Pig, who called on The Great Escape to sever their ties with Live Nation, who are affiliated with Barclays, over the bank’s ties to the Israeli forces and the ongoing attack of Palestinians in Gaza following October 7th.
More than a third of the line-up have withdrawn from the new music event, which has previously served as a catapult for careers. Furthermore, notable artists such as Idles, Massive Attack and Idles, who were not set to play The Great Escape, have also supported the cause.
Additionally, Brian Eno encouraged acts to not perform at the festival, stating, “Although I understand the special cultural significance of The Great Escape festival, I want to salute the courageous artists who passed up the opportunity to play there in support of the people of Gaza.”
Acts to have withdrawn from the event include Alfie Templeman and Soft Play, formerly known as Slaves. In a statement, the punk duo shared: “We will not be playing The Great Escape festival this weekend. We do not support genocide. We support the people of Palestine and do not support the BDS movement. Apologies to everyone who got tickets to see us.”
Although Kneecap refused to play at SXSW in Austin, Texas, due to its affiliation with the US Army, which is supporting the Israeli Army in the war in Gaza, they are still planning to play at The Great Escape on May 17th.
Over recent months, they have been vocal in their support of the Palestinian people and even wore Palestine badges while performing on The Late Late Show earlier this year despite being asked not to by RTE.
Now, in an interview with the Irish News, Mo Chara of the band said when asked about their non-participation of The Great Escape boycott: “Live Nation who run most festivals are related to [Irish promoters] MCD, and they’re all in conjunction with Barclays [which deals with major weapons manufacturers] and Coca-Cola [criticised for its factory in the occupied West Bank].”
Chara then touched upon the wider festival landscape and its importance to supporting bands financially, adding, “Obviously, we can’t de-platform ourselves by boycotting everything, and the summer festivals are our main income. So it is very tricky. We definitely have to pick which products and which companies we’re going to boycott, with advice from BDS [the Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement].”
Meanwhile, his bandmate, Móglaí Bap claimed it wasn’t an identical situation to SXSW, stating: “It’s easy for middle class people with a steady nine-to-five income to write online that we should be boycotting stuff. But this is our work. Obviously, we pulled out of SXSW because it was literally sponsored by the American army, but we’re not f***in’ ridiculous either.”
Chara also said that “a lot of unfair pressure is being put on artists instead of focusing on getting the festivals to divest from these banks,” before adding, “we’re not the ones investing in Barclays”.
Kneecap are set to release their debut album Fine Art on June 14th through Heavenly Recording, they will be previewing the album at Chalk in Brighton on May 17th as part of The Great Escape.
Visit here to read a wider piece exploring the boycott of The Great Escape: “I feel as if I am to be judged”.